Christen nielson



Patented Aug. 23, I898. C. NIELSON.

FIFTH WHEEL.

(Application filed Oct. 26, 1897.) (No Model.)

Nrrno STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTEN NIELSON, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.

FIFTH-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 609,697, dated August 23, 1898.

Application filed October 26,

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, G'nRIsTEN NIELsoN, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of.

New York, (Brooklyn,) county of-Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in FifthWVhe'els,

of which the following is afullfcleaifland ex Fig. 3 showinga different kind of roller-bean. in gs and bearing-plates having concaved bearing -surfaces. Fig. 4' shows bearing plates having sloping bearing-surfaces and roller bearings composed of comically-shaped rollers used in connection therewith. Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing the manner of attaching my improved fifth-wheel to the structure of a wagon. 1

My invention relates to fifth-wheels for vehicles; and it consists of the hereinafter-described construction of the bearing plates and the combination therewith of different kinds of roller-bearings.

Bearing-plates of fifth-wheels must be capable of concentrical rotary motion in relation to each other; but they must engage each other, so that their sidewise' dislocation by jolting of the wagon is made impossible. At the same time the bearing-plates must be so disposed in relation to each other as to avoid friction between them, and there must be also a sufiicient clearance for the operation of the roller-bearings between their flanges.

With this end in view my invention consists in the construction of the bearing-plates a and b, as shown in the drawings. bearing plate I) (sometimes called trackplate) is fiat and is provided on both its up per edges with grooves '0 and c. The bearing-surface c of this plate may be fiat, even, or sloping, or it may be concaved, as the rollerbearings used in the construction of the fifth Wheel require. The upper bearingplate (or cover) a is made in the shape of an inverted U, forming a channel wherein the rollers or ro1ler-bearin gs run. This channel is approxl- The lower 1897. fierlal No. 656,440. (No model.)

mately of the same width as bearing-surface c of the roller-bearing plate, and the edges of the side walls w of the upper plate are fitted into the grooves 17 and o of the lower plate.

The channel may be either straight, as lsho wnin Fig. 4, or narrowing toward the top, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The bearing-surface 0 may be shaped as the kind of rollerbearings used in the construction of the fifthwheel may require.

If such roller-bearin gs are used as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the upper plate or cover a, with the channel narrowing toward its top, will be more suitable, because thereby the contact between the rings 6, wherein the rollers r are mounted, and the sides of the channel will be limited only to one point, whereas if the walls of the channel be straight, as shown in Fig. 4, the contact between the rings 6 and the walls of the channel would extend to their whole surface.

The bearing-plates a and b are so fitted that the edges to of the upper bearing-plate a will rest in the grooves U and 1) when no rollers are set between the plates. The rollers are made of a slightly-greater diameter than the space between the bearing surfaces, so that when they are set between the plates the upper plate a rests upon the rollers. In this position (shown inFigs. 2, 3, and 4 of the draw ings) there is a slight clearance between the surfaces of the grooves 11 and e and the edges of the side walls w,- but the central part of the lower bearing plate 11 extends sufiiciently far into thechannel so that by a sidewise jolting of the wagon the edges of the upper bearing-plate will'abut against it and in this manner prevent the dislocation of the fifthwheel.

The bearing-surfaces of the plates may be flat, even, or inclined, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4,, respectively, or concaved, as shown in Fig. 3. The advantages of the bearing-plates having concaved surfaces are explained fully in my Letters Patent No. 578,022, granted to me March 2, 1897. When conically-shaped rollers are used for the roller-bearings, the bearing-surfaces of the bearing plates are made slanting or inclined, as shown in Fig. 4. In both of these modified constructions to wit, when the bearing-plates are conc'aved or inclined-there will be less strain upon the sides of the upper bearing-plates in case of a jolt tending to displace the upper from the lower plate, because the rollers will assist in maintaining the bearing-plates in their proper position by resisting such sidewise motion.

I do not herein claim the roller-bearing comrisin two annular concentric rin s and rollers revolving on spindles set in the concentric rings in combination with the herein-described bearing-plates, as I have made this the subject of my subdivisional application filed June 18, 1898, Serial No. 683,844.

I claim as my invention and desire to se cure by Letters Patentl. Bearing-plates for fifth-wheels comprisin g an annular track-plate, provided with parallel grooves on its upper edges and an inverted- U-shaped cover fitted upon the trackplate, the edges of its downwardly-extending the lower or track plate in such manner that the edges of its downwardly-extending sides engage in the grooves of the lower plate thereby holding the upper plate in proper position upon the lower and against a sidewise dislocation, and a chain of rollers set between the plates.

3. In a fifth-wheel the combination with a chain of rollers of two bearing-plates, the lower one being provided with parallel running annular grooves and a suitably-shaped bearing-surface between these grooves, and the upper with a similarly-shaped bearing- "surface bounded by parallel running annular flanges or Walls, forming an annular channel, the upper plate being mounted upon the lower in such manner that the edges of the walls engage in the grooves of the lower plate.

In witness that I claim the improvements described in the foregoing specification Ihave signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

OHRISTEN NIELSON.

Witnesses:

HARRY CALHOUN, ROBERT VALENTINE MATHEWS. 

